


Four For Tea

by heyjupiter



Series: Made for This [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Domestic Fluff, Gen, Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Panic Attacks, Past Child Abuse, Science Bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:08:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24886597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyjupiter/pseuds/heyjupiter
Summary: Morgan wants to have a tea party, Tony and Pepper don’t want Morgan to have caffeine, and Bruce wants to get through a trip to the store without freaking out. Together, they should be able to make it all work.
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Bruce Banner & Tony Stark, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark
Series: Made for This [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1800802
Comments: 8
Kudos: 35
Collections: Bruce Banner Bingo 2019





	Four For Tea

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to my story [Made for This](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18664855), an Endgame AU where Bruce does the final snap—Tony lives, but Hulk dies, leaving Bruce behind. That's probably all you need to know to get this story but feel free to read that one if you want a little more backstory for how Bruce got here.
> 
> This is for the "tea party" square on my [Bruce Banner Bingo card.](https://twentyghosts.tumblr.com/brucebingo)
> 
> This story contains vague mentions of past child abuse, in the way that talking about Bruce Banner essentially requires. Nothing graphic.
> 
> Thanks to volunteerfd for beta reading!

Bruce stirred the saucepan of chai on the stove and took a deep, satisfied sniff. It reminded him of being in India, of a time when his life was in some ways simpler. Of a time when the Hulk was still a part of him.

He heard footsteps and turned. Pepper and Morgan bounded into the kitchen. "Bruce, that smells amazing!" Pepper enthused. "What is it?"

"It looks like a potion!" Morgan said.

"Some masala chai. Tea." Bruce had been craving it recently, and this morning he'd finally gotten around to preparing his own spice blend before simmering and steeping it.

"For a tea party?" Morgan asked.

"Oh, uh, sorry, Morgan," Bruce said. "It's a grownup drink. Like coffee." He could probably add enough milk and honey that she'd enjoy the taste, but he didn't want to give her even the smallest amount of caffeinated black tea. Morgan already had more than enough energy.

She made a face.

Bruce said, "I could make some hot chocolate if you want to have a tea party though."

Morgan rolled her eyes—reminding Bruce so much of Tony—and said, "I want to have a _tea_ party. Not a _hot chocolate_ party."

"You have a good imagination, Morgan. Why don't we pretend it's tea?" Bruce suggested.

"Or apple juice," Pepper said.

"I want a tea party," Morgan insisted.

"Next time we get groceries, I can get some tea that you would like," Bruce said. "And then we can have a tea party."

"Isn't that nice of Uncle Bruce?" Pepper asked. "But today, your choices are hot chocolate or apple juice. Or water. What would you like?"

"Apple juice. But _I_ want to pour."

"You drive a hard bargain," Pepper said. 

"What does that mean?"

"It means you're your mother's daughter," Bruce said, smiling at Pepper.

"Yeah, because she's my mommy," Morgan said matter-of-factly, as she pulled the bottle of juice out of the fridge.

"Okay, hey, let's pour that over the sink," Pepper said. She set up a plastic stool at the sink and helped Morgan. Bruce watched the scene with a smile. It was amazing to see what a safe household with loving parents looked like, to know without a doubt that if Morgan did spill the juice, she wouldn't be punished. Sometimes it made him ache to know what he'd missed, but mostly, he loved to see the way that Morgan was loved.

After Morgan had successfully poured her own juice, Bruce asked, "Hey, Pepper, did you want any chai?"

"Oh! Sure, if there's enough."

Bruce strained some into a mug for her. "You can add more milk or honey if you want."

She took a sip and raised her eyebrows. "This is...so much better than the kind they have at Starbucks."

Bruce arranged his features in mock-offense. "Well, I should hope so."

"Thanks, Bruce, this is great. For grownups," she added, looking at Morgan. "We'll get out of your hair in a minute. We're going out to the garden. I didn't mean to stop by the kitchen first but it smelled so good, I just had to check it out."

Bruce nodded and sipped his own tea. It was definitely better than Starbucks. "I'm glad you did. What are you doing in the garden?"

"We're going to pick _strawberries_ ," Morgan announced.

"And do some weeding and watering," Pepper said. "But that's less exciting than strawberries."

"Definitely," Bruce said. "Well, have fun! Save a strawberry for me."

"Hear that, Morgan? You can't eat _all_ of them as you pick them this time. You have to save one for Uncle Bruce."

"Okay," Morgan said. "One for Uncle Bruce, and one for you, and one for Daddy, and the rest for me!" 

"I appreciate that," Bruce said. Pepper smiled at him, then guided Morgan through putting her cup in the dishwasher and led her out to the garden. Bruce cleaned up the kitchen and took the rest of his tea out on the deck. He took a moment to appreciate the beautiful view of the lake, and then he pulled out his phone to shop for tea. There was a well-stocked tea shop in the nearest mid-sized town, about half an hour away. He'd ordered tea from their website before, but as he scrolled through their inventory, it occurred to him that he could just go there and buy tea. Then Morgan could have her tea party this afternoon, instead of waiting for shipping. He let that idea steep in his mind.

Tony plopped down on the padded bench next to Bruce. "Hey, Science Bro!" Tony had had to recalibrate his nicknames after the Hulk's death; "Average-Size White" didn't have the same ring to it as "Big Green." Bruce had half-heartedly suggested that Tony could just call him "Bruce," but it hadn't really stuck.

Bruce looked up from his phone and noted the smudge of black grease on Tony's nose that suggested he'd just come from the garage. "Hey, Tony. Can I borrow your car?"

Tony's eyebrows shot up, and Bruce understood why. Since Tony had brought a grieving Bruce here somewhat against his will, Bruce had been a recluse. The only time he'd set foot outside the general area of the lake house had been for the memorial service they'd held for Hulk almost two months ago. "Of course. Where are you going?" Tony asked, failing to sound casual.

"Just into Oakdale. There's a tea shop, the Cozy Kettle. I told Morgan we could have a tea party, but I don't want to give her any caffeine."

"Well, thank you for that," Tony said, dramatically bringing a hand to his chest at the idea of a caffeinated Morgan. "But yeah, I know that place. It's in the plaza by the hardware store. Let me just wash up and we'll go."

"Oh, no, I can go by myself."

Tony bit his lip. "Are you sure? I'll just be a minute."

"Yeah, I'd just—it'll just be a quick errand, there's no need for you to go out of your way."

"It's no trouble, Bruce. My schedule is pretty wide-open these days."

"I appreciate it, Tony, but I...I'd like to go on my own. I think I'm ready."

Tony looked like he wanted to say something else, but instead he said, "Well, sure. The keys are on the hook by the door. Will you be back by lunch? Pepper said she was gonna make zoodles."

Bruce understood that Tony was really asking, _Will you come back?_ and he said, "Yeah, definitely. You know I love zoodles."

Tony stood and clapped Bruce on the back. "Okay. Have fun. Make good choices." He grimaced. "Wow, that just slipped out. I really am a dad, huh?"

Bruce smiled. "Morgan's lucky to have you."

"She's lucky to have you, too, you know. See you at lunch." Tony went back inside the house. Bruce finished the dregs of his tea. He washed the mug, grabbed the keys to Tony's Audi, and spent five minutes taking deep breaths in the front seat. He could do this. He'd driven a car plenty of times. It was true that in his merged form, he wouldn't even have been able to fit in this car...but now he could. And he could drive it. It was like riding a bike, probably. 

He connected his phone to the car's Bluetooth system and put in directions for the tea shop. He opted not to put on music or a podcast, figuring he'd better focus on the drive. He drove carefully, exactly at the speed limit. There wasn't much traffic, and he pulled into the mostly-empty parking lot twenty-seven minutes later, exactly as predicted by the GPS.

Bruce locked the car and entered the tea shop. It was small, but packed with different varieties of tea. Bruce was the only customer—in fact, the only person in the store, since the cash register had a little clock sign out that said "Back in 5." Bruce started perusing the teas. The loose leaf teas had small sample containers out so customers could smell the teas, and Bruce reached for a chai blend, just to smell it. Just to start with something familiar.

He closed his eyes and sniffed, and it reminded him of India. He breathed deep, and then he felt a hand on him.

"Hi, let me know if you need any help!" 

He turned and saw an Indian-American teenage girl. She wore a Cozy Kettle T-shirt and had a name tag that identified her as Shuchi. 

In the five seconds it took for him to process all of that, his brain had gone through a very complex fight or flight calculation— _Calm down, calm down so the Other Guy won't pick Fight_ , he reminded himself, and then he remembered that Hulk was gone. He tried to tell himself that his assailant was not a threat, and neither fight nor flight was necessary, but his brain was already short circuiting. He dropped the small canister of tea, spilling loose leaf chai blend everywhere.

"Sorry," he said, or tried to say, but he couldn't speak. He couldn't breathe. He sank to the ground and drew his knees up.

"Whoa, hey, sorry I scared you," Shuchi said. 

Bruce tried to say, "It's okay," but again, nothing came out.

"Um...can I get you some water or something? Are you okay?"

Bruce didn't answer, except to continue to be visibly not okay. After a moment, he found that a tissue was being pressed into his hand. He looked at it with confusion, then realized that he was crying. Of course.

"Mister, is there, um, can I call someone for you? Are you here by yourself?"

Dimly, Bruce registered that that might be a good idea. It was so hard to get his hands to do what he wanted them to, but he managed to get his phone out of his pocket. It took him several attempts to unlock it, but he handed it to her.

She sighed. "Who should I call?" She waited as Bruce tried in vain to get enough control of himself to speak, and then she said, "Okay, uh, let's just hope your emergency contact picks up."

She dialed and held the phone up to her ear. After a minute, she turned to Bruce and said, "Are you Bruce?" He nodded, and she said, "Yeah, I have Bruce's phone, I think he's having a panic attack or something?" Bruce nodded again. He was definitely having a panic attack or something. He kept trying to breathe and tuned out the conversation Shuchi was having with—well, probably Tony or Pepper? Bruce didn't remember ever setting an emergency contact on his phone. But the phone had been a pre-loaded gift from Tony.

Shuchi put Bruce's phone on the ground next to him. "Hey, your, um, science bro is coming soon, okay? Just hang in there."

Bruce managed a weak nod. He knew it would be awhile before Tony could make it into town. Maybe he could manage to get himself off the floor before Tony got here. Maybe he could just keep breathing.

He hadn't managed to get off the floor when he heard the door jingle. Bruce bowed his head further forward, just aware enough to be embarrassed that another customer would see him like this. 

"Your emergency contact is _Tony Stark_? Oh my god, I thought maybe you were homeless, no offense," Shuchi blurted out.

With great effort, Bruce looked up and saw Tony standing in the doorway. He looked back down at the baggy sweater he wore, not to mention the stylishly distressed jeans Tony had given him, and decided he couldn’t really fault the kid for thinking he might be homeless. He was getting better adjusted to his ordinary human body, but he still found comfort in dressing in warm, shapeless clothing, And it had been awhile since he’d shaved or gotten a haircut. Even the handful of diehard Avengers fans (or physics fans) who might have known Bruce back in the day probably wouldn't have recognized his current appearance.

Tony smiled at Shuchi and said,"The one and only." He entered the shop, where he crouched down and put a hand on Bruce's back. "Hey, Brucie-Goosey. Hey, I got an Ativan here, you think you can take it?"

Bruce gulped in air and nodded. Tony pressed a pill into his hand and a metal water bottle into his other hand. Bruce managed to take the pill. Tony kept his hand on Bruce's back and said, "Good, now just breathe, it'll kick in soon, okay? You're okay."

Tony kept murmuring reassurances, and after an unknown, excruciating amount of time, Bruce _was_ okay. He caught his breath and said, "S-sorry."

"For what?" Tony asked.

Bruce licked his lips and said, "I, uh, spilled some tea."

Shuchi laughed. "It's okay. I'll clean it up. I really don't have that much work to do around here."

"Thanks. Sorry." Bruce still felt dazed; the lights seemed too bright and his body felt too small.

Tony stood and offered Bruce a hand. "You ready to go home?"

Bruce let Tony pull him to his feet and said, "No, I—I still haven't gotten any tea."

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "Right." He turned back to the cashier and asked, "Ah, what was your name?"

"Shuchi."

"Thanks. Shuchi, could you just pick out some tea for—"

"No, I know what I want," Bruce said. "I—I wanted to get some butterfly pea flower tea."

"Oh, yeah, no problem, we have that. How much do you want? Loose leaf or bags?"

Bruce said, "I, um—"

"—just the biggest bag you have," Tony said. "So that, no offense, Shuchi, we can go a while before coming back here."

She nodded. "Yeah, of course. Anything else?"

Tony looked at Bruce, who shrugged. Tony said, "Yeah, what's your favorite tea?"

"Me? Oh, um, I like this mango-passion fruit infused red tea. But also our chai blend, but also our jasmine—"

Tony held up a hand. "Just give us a bag of your favorite." Tony kept an arm around Bruce and guided him toward the register. Tony paid for the tea and then tried to give Shuchi a twenty dollar bill. "Thanks for looking after Bruce, I really appreciate it."

"Oh, no, I'm not allowed to take tips? Actually? Anyway it's no problem. I mean, I get it, it's been weird since the Blip, right? My parents...well, anyway, everybody has bad moments..." She hesitated a minute and then said, "But, um, do you think I could get a selfie with you?"

Tony glanced sideways at Bruce, who nodded and stepped back with a smile. He was able to stand on his own two feet and breathe. He could do that. Tony took the selfie and thanked Shuchi once again before turning back to Bruce and guiding him outside. 

"Everything okay?" Tony asked. "Hey, c'mon, let's sit down a second." They sat on a bench out front, and Tony put his arm around Bruce again.

"Yeah, just—it was stupid," Bruce muttered. "I just got startled, and...thanks for coming. Did—did you fly here? It did—I was kind of out of it but it did seem like you got here really fast after she called?"

"I was just in the neighborhood."

Bruce blinked as his brain slowly started to come back online. "Did you follow me?"

" _Follow_ is such an unpleasant word. But I...may also have had errands to run at the hardware store."

Bruce sighed. Tony said, "Look, I—I just wanted to make sure you were okay. And I _did_ need to pick up some square bolts."

"I guess I'm glad you did. I'm sorry, I just—"

"Shh, you don't need to apologize for anything."

"I just…" Bruce buried his face in his hands. Tony had an actual child to raise. He didn't need to follow Bruce around on minor errands.

"Look, Bruce, I get it. You _know_ how long it took me to get my panic attacks under control, after the Chitauri. And then again, after...well, I know where you're coming from, all right? You know I do. And I'm here for you. You're my brother."

"Thanks." Bruce took a less-shaky breath and said, "Okay. Let's go home."

"Are you sure? Maybe we could get lunch first."

"I thought Pepper was making zoodles."

Tony lowered his voice conspiratorially. "I am so sick of zoodles. I mean, I get it, it's a good way to use up zucchini, but...there is just _too much_ zucchini. When we moved out here, I thought it would be great to have a garden, but I had no idea how much zucchini one household could grow. I don't think we even planted zucchini, I think it just...arrived."

"Okay, sure. What did you have in mind?"

"Well...you know they have veggie burgers at Burger King now?"

Bruce laughed. "Sure," he agreed. He stood up from the bench and approached the Audi. "I'll meet you there?"

Tony eyed him. "Are you sure you're good to drive?"

Bruce considered. "I think so, but...wait, _did_ you take a suit here?"

"No, I took the Subaru, but...oh, I never get to drive the Audi anymore," Tony said, with a sudden flash of puppy dog eyes.

"Sorry! Do you want to trade?"

"No, I want to drive you to Burger King and then home. We'll come back for the Subaru some other time. It'll be fine here for awhile."

Bruce handed over the keys. "Sure." He'd never live it down if he wrecked Tony's Audi in a post-panic attack haze.

Tony took the keys and pulled Bruce into a tight hug before they climbed in the car. It felt good to be hugged, to be reminded of his body’s boundaries. Tony sent a quick text message before he put on his sunglasses and asked, "Is it okay if I put the top down?"

Bruce nodded and Tony gleefully put the car's top down and pulled out of the shopping plaza parking lot, just slightly over the speed limit. Shortly down the road, he pulled into the Burger King, where he paused in a parking spot and asked, "Do you mind if we just drive through?"

"Oh, uh, sure. Yeah."

"It can just be kind of a thing…" Tony gestured at his face and shrugged, indicating the trevails of being a celebrity. Bruce had known a few years of that problem; when he'd merged with Hulk he'd been recognized wherever he went. And thanks to his series of educational videos, he'd been beloved by kids. It had been nice. But now he was back to his basically unrecognizable self. (A small silver lining: at least he didn't have to worry about being taken by Ross any longer.)

Tony narrowed his eyes at Bruce. He reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. You sure you're okay? We can go home and eat zoodles. Or...or go to the beach. Or—"

Bruce managed a smile. "I'm okay."

"You want a milkshake? I bet you want a milkshake."

"Um, sure."

"Then that's settled." Tony pulled into the drive-through and rattled off his order, including two chocolate milkshakes. Bruce snorted, understanding now that Tony had wanted a milkshake, but not alone. Still, Bruce had to admit that he enjoyed it once he took his first sugary sip. The fries and fake meat were good, too, though he still liked zoodles.

As they drove home, Tony blasting music to be heard over the roar of the wind, Bruce realized that part of why he'd felt such a pressure to make the trip into town by himself was because he'd been testing himself to see if he could leave the lake house. If he could live on his own. And he'd learned that maybe he couldn't, yet, but also that he didn't have to. That maybe Tony and Pepper weren’t just being polite, but really did mean it when they said he could stay with them for as long as he wanted. That they really did _want_ Bruce to stay. 

For most of his life, the only person who'd ever really made Bruce feel truly wanted had been his mother, and even then, he'd never quite been able to shake the secret belief that if she _really_ loved him, she would have managed to leave his father before it was too late. But after he'd merged with Hulk, Bruce had suddenly felt a brand-new sense of confidence. Hulk brought with him a childlike sense of joy that Bruce had never really felt on his own. And it was easy to believe that people would want to spend time with someone who was so strong and yet so unlikely to smash. He'd never been happier than when he and Hulk been together. Now he had to learn all over again what it might feel like to be wanted. To be included. 

As they started to pull up the long driveway, Tony said, "By the way, we have to destroy the evidence before we get in the house, or Morgan will destroy _us_ if she finds out we got French fries without her." They crushed up their Burger King trash and slipped it into the outdoor trash barrel. Tony shook it down for good measure, then held his finger up to his lips. "Take this to the grave, Bruce."

"Of course," Bruce replied, with equal solemnity. "I could never betray my science bro."

Tony beamed at him, and Bruce felt a burst of gratitude to have such a friend—a brother—a family. Even without Hulk, he had this. Tony reached out to stroke Bruce’s hair. "If that clerk thought you were homeless before, I’d hate to hear what she thought about your windswept look."

Bruce laughed and attempted to comb his fingers through his increasingly grey curls. "I guess I could use a haircut," he admitted. Tony’s shorter hair looked rakish after their open-air trip, but Bruce could feel that the wind had a much more chaotic effect on his own hair. 

"Or keep growing it out, and maybe Morgan will share her glitter hair clips with you. Your choice. But if you want a cut, just say the word, I’ll get you an appointment at my salon."

"Thanks. I’ll probably just cut it myself."

Tony’s eyes widened. "Well, hey, no rush, don’t do anything hasty before you have a chance to see what Javier can do with hair. He’s an artist!"

Bruce laughed. "Okay, I’ll think about it. But first, let’s have some tea."

As soon as they entered the house, Morgan came bounding up to them. "Uncle Bruce, did you get tea? Hi, Daddy."

"Hey, Pumpkin," Tony said.

"Yeah, I got some tea," Bruce said. "Should we go make it?"

"Mommy and I already set the table!"

Bruce saw and understood Tony's momentary look of panic, but they soon saw that the dining room table was set for tea, with a bowl of strawberries. Not a zoodle in sight.

Bruce put water in a tea kettle and waited for it to heat.

Morgan said, "You're not going to make it in the big pot?"

"No, this is a different kind of tea."

"Hmm." Morgan looked skeptical. 

Bruce considered launching into a history of tea, to explain the ritual of chai, but instead he said, "This tea has a special surprise."

"What's the surprise?"

"It's a surprise."

She pouted, and Bruce said, "You'll see. Soon. We just have to wait for the water to get hot enough."

"When it whistles!"

"Actually, it whistles when it’s boiling, but we want the water to be almost boiling, but not quite."

"Why?"

"It will taste better."

"Why?"

"Um...I'm not sure. I think it has something to do with the amount of oxygen in the water? Why don't we look it up later."

"Why?"

"Because right now we have to watch the water."

"Why?"

"Because we don't want it to boil."

Luckily, the water reached the appropriate temperature before Morgan could get too many more questions in. Bruce carefully carried the kettle over to the decorative teapot on the table. He measured out the tea into the pot, then poured in the water.

"Now, we have to wait five minutes." Bruce set a timer. "I think that should be enough time to answer your questions about boiling tea."

Tony snorted. "I don't know that five _hours_ would be enough to satiate Morgan's curiosity about anything."

Morgan rolled her eyes. " _Daddy._ "

"It's a good thing, Sweetpea. Curiosity is the most important thing for a scientist to have."

"Maybe second most important, after proper safety equipment," Bruce said. Both Morgan and Tony rolled their eyes at him. He sighed, skimmed an article on his phone and said, "Okay, tea gets a lot of its flavor from chemical compounds called phenolics. At higher temperatures, more bitter phenolics are extracted. So keeping it below boiling keeps the bitter phenolics from making the tea taste bad."

"This tea is made out of _chemicals_?" Morgan asked.

"Everything is made out of chemicals," Bruce replied.

"Even strawberries?"

"Even strawberries," Bruce confirmed. 

"Whoa."

Bruce's timer went off, and he carefully poured each of the four teacups about half-full. 

"This tea is blue!" Morgan exclaimed. "It must have _a lot_ of chemicals in it."

"Just the usual amount. Now, watch for the surprise." Bruce went back to the kitchen for the bottle of organic lemonade that was always in the fridge, and he topped off each teacup with a nice splash of lemonade. Morgan's eyes grew round as the tea changed from blue to purple.

"Purple is my favorite color!"

Bruce smiled. "Mine too."

"Can you make it turn other colors? Like red for Daddy’s favorite color?"

"No, butterfly pea flower tea only turns from blue to purple."

"This tea is made out of _butterfly pee_?" Morgan asked, scandalized.

"Oh. Er. No, butterfly _pea_ flower. P-e-a. Like the vegetable. But, um, a flower?"

"Oh." Morgan sounded almost disappointed. "What color is butterfly pee?"

"You know, I don't know. Let's research that later," Bruce said.

"Come on, let's start our tea party," Pepper said. They sat down around the table.

"You have to hold your pinkies up," Morgan said. "That's the rule."

"Why?" Tony asked innocently.

"It—because—because you have to."

"Oh. Well, if I _have_ to." Tony held his pinkies out with exaggerated formality, and Bruce and Pepper followed suit, smiling at each other. They sipped their tea and ate strawberries and listened as Morgan held court with her proclamations about chemicals and royal etiquette. Eventually, they all cleaned up and Morgan retreated to her tent for a nap.

Pepper said, "Morgan's really lucky to have you, you know, Bruce. You're _so_ patient with her."

"Aw, she's just curious. I'm happy to try to answer her questions."

Tony shook his head. "I tried to tell him."

Bruce blushed. "Oh—really, I'm lucky to have her. And you two."

"I guess we're all lucky," Pepper said.

"No, we're all chemicals," Tony said.

"As a scientist, my hypothesis is that both things can be true," Bruce said, and he was pretty sure he had all the evidence he needed to support that claim.


End file.
